Texas Tech University
Faculty Senate Meeting
Meeting #272
October 10, 2007
The Faculty Senate met on Wednesday, October 10, 2007 in the Senate Room in the Student Union Building, with
President Gene Wilde presiding.
Senators present were: Hamed, Johnson, Wilson, Davis, Boros, Carlson, Grair, Kimball, Niwayama, Held, Jeter,
Anderson, Wong, Koch, Iyer, Roeger, Rainger, Tacon, Bremer, Ritchey, Agnello, Klinker, Maushak, Hashemi, Sobolewski,
Giesselmann, Mengel, Lauderdale, Binkley, Colwell, Dillon, Laughlin, River, Oliver, Peoples, Paschall, Durham, L. Mann,
Gelber, Skerik, Mayer, Hernandez, Reed, Shacklette, Wilde, Williams, Syma and Warner. Senators excused were:
Kvashny, Alvarado, U. Mann, Sheets and James. Senators unexcused were: Hashemi.
I.
Call to Order. President Gene Wilde called Meeting #272 to order at 3:17 PM, October 10, 2007.
Recognition of Guests: President Wilde recognized the following guests: Invited guests were University President Jon
Whitmore, Senior Vice Provost Jim Brink, Vice Provost Liz Burns, President’s Assistant Mary Jane Hurst, Faculty Senate
Parliamentarian Jennifer Spurrier, Staff Ombudsman Nathanael Haddox, Student Ombudsman Kathryn Quilliam, Staff
Senate President-Elect Ron Nail, Daily Toreador reporter Maggie Kiely, and Karen Hopkins with Quality Service in
Professional Development.
II. Approval of Minutes. Minutes of Meeting #271 brought forward for approval by President Wilde. Minutes approved.
III. Speaker: University President John Whitmore
President Whitmore addressed the following during his presentation to the Faculty Senate:
 The successful beginning to the 2007-2008 academic year
 Record enrollment of first-year students; up more than 500 from last year
 Red Raider Guarantee: if a family earns $40,000 or less per year, students in that family can receive an
education at Texas Tech University at no charge to them
 Graduate on Time Program: Number of credit hours students are taking per semester is up from an
average of twelve to an average of fourteen
 Growth in minority student representation of 2007 first year students is up from 2006: 24% more Hispanic
representation, 44% more African American representation; 46% more Asian representation
 6161 students living on campus this year
 Legislative session report: TTU received $57 million new dollars for building on campus; $9 million
increase in HEAF funding; $3.6 million new dollars specifically designated for research infrastructure; $5
million from formula funding
 Tuition was raised by 4.5 percent; generated $6 million in tuition and fees
 Money has been spent on raises for faculty and staff; research infrastructure; new faculty; recruiting and
admissions ($1.5 million); additional police officers ($360,000); campus emergency response system
($80,000)
 Campus safety changes: purchase of new instant messaging system; secured residence halls; purchased
new set of radios for first responders that are synched with first responders in the city, county, and state
 Major initiatives for 2007-2008: Community Engagement committee, headed by Dr. Liz Hall-Burns; TTU
named by Carnegie Foundation as one of 25 most engaged institutions in the country in community
involvement; Provost Marcy is exploring a College of Continuing Education
President Whitmore answered questions from the Senate about equalizing salaries between incoming and
established faculty; admission policies of Angelo State University; any concern that a goal of increasing research
money might be perceived by non-grant generating instructors as preferential treatment; attention being given to
changing the faculty, not just the student, demographic
Speaker: Karen Hopkins from Professional Development
Speaker Hopkins presented a Power Point on Employee Learning, with major points as follows:
 The committee to evaluate Employee Learning has developed a website listing all available programs for
employee learning on TTU campus: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/employeelearning/index.php
 Speaker Hopkins requested that faculty review the website and note what, if anything, is missing
 Three main areas of employee learning are: professional development, certifications, and hours required
by certain programs for employees to stay current
 Focus for this year’s Employee Learning Week: Professional Development
IV. Old Business
1. Study Committee B met on 9/26 with Cynthia Davis to discuss reimbursement for conference fees.
2. Study Committee A, convened by Senator Peoples, set up a meeting with Dr. Liz Hall-Burns and Dr.
Charlotte Dunham to discuss Faculty Exit Interviews
3. Study Committee C, convened by Senator Warner, discussed the option of creating a new OP that
stipulates that Senators be notified prior to OPs being revised
4. Ombudsman Ad Hoc Committee recommended to the senate that the position announcement for the
Ombudsman read “Half to full time.” President Wilde clarified that, at Senate meeting #271, the
Senate voted to approve a full time, not a half time, position.
V.
New Business
1. Sandy River agreed to convene the Committee on Administrator Evaluations
VI.
Announcements
1. President Wilde distributed a draft summary of a document on Intellectual Property and called for
discussion or comments.
2. Faculty Senate Office Coordinator, Patty Gisch will be in the hospital for touch up surgery. She
should be back to the office by the end of the month.
3. A beer and wine cash bar is available in the Faculty Lounge after all Senate meetings.
4. Dr. Mary Jane Hurst announced the next event in the President’s Lecture and Performance Series:
Tuesday, 10/30, 3:30 p.m., Merket Alumni Center. The President’s Book Award winners will read from
their work and talk about their writing.
VII. Adjournment. A motion was made and seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 4:24 pm.
** Note –the tape recording from this meeting is available.